Breaking Point
by Khellendrosiic
Summary: Even those that should not have emotions can be pushed past their limit.


Disclaimer: I own nothing of this. All I own is Solid Shot's name over on Protector. You want to make a Solid Shot elsewhere, then be my guest.

The five robed figures stood in the center of the wrecked store, gesturing imperiously at the several Spectral Followers that flitted to and fro, searching for materials. Two of the figures cradled their ornate blades close as they kept watch from the pair of windows that flanked the store's shattered door. Behind the pair of Guardians the small group's lone Archer shifted nervously in place. He had lowered his hood and was wiping sweat away from his brow. Catching a glare from the second in command of the raid he hurriedly pulled the hood back up and took up a stance of vigilance. The Energy Mage snorted, he could see the new recruit trembling in fear, but concentrated instead on moving the two globes of light to illuminate the areas that the ghosts were looking through. The leader of the quintet, a Ruin Mage, tugged on his long beard and scowled in the general direction of the outside.

"Wh-what if a hero investigates?" stammered the Archer as he shot a darting glance at the Ruin Mage.

"Calm yourself, Sullivan." replied High Magus Rathtin, "My contact has ever been loyal and he has assured me that no heroes would be patrolling this area tonight." 

"Just like he assured you that we would find a powerful artifact in a common grocery store?" muttered the Energy Mage. 

"Silence fool." shot back Rathtin, "It is known to us that the owner of this establishment was once a sorceress of no small amount of fame. She perished in the Rikti War and so some of her possessions may still be here. We just have to have the patience to find them."

The Energy Mage rolled his eyes at Rathtin's comment and then surveyed an object that one of the Followers had carried over to him. Seeing that it was just an ordinary cell phone, the mage grabbed the offending bit of technology and hurled it at the window. The phone rebounded off of the bullet-proof glass and fell to the floor with a loud clatter. One of the Guardians jumped and wildly swung his thorn blade in the phone's direction. The Energy Mage grinned, feeling better already, when a loud voice spoke from just outside the door.

"Members of the Circle of Thorns, this is your only warning, drop all of your weapons and magical equipment and surrender yourselves. You shall be given a fair trial." announced the metallic voice.

"We don't have time for this." Growled Rathtin, "Sleep!"

The Ruin Mage made an arcane gesture at the shadowy figure and green light flared. His spell complete, Rathtin turned to the Energy Mage and lifted up his staff. 

"The time has come for us to leave, have the Followers dispose of that meddlesome justice seeker and-"

Rathtin stopped speaking as one of the Guardians cried out and flew into the wall behind the cash register. The second Guardian stumbled away from the door as the armored hero stepped into the store. A high-powered optic scope rested on one side of the hero's face and it and the opposite eye glowed a bright, steady red. A massive assault rifle was clutched in its left hand and the gauntleted right fist was smeared with the blood of the wounded Guardian. In response, the Circle of Thorns tightened their circle, the unwounded Guardian and Spectral Followers moving up front to protect the mages and the Archer drifting back to assist his wounded comrade. Rathtin's angrily narrowed eyes suddenly shot open as he recognized the hero standing in front of him.

"I know you!" shouted the Ruin Mage, "You're Solid Shot, that damned robot that keeps trying to disrupt our plans!"

The modified guard droid nodded and pointed its rifle at Rathtin.  
"And I know you High Magus Rathtin. I thought that a year behind bars would teach you to keep away from the Circle."

"A year?" scoffed Rathtin, "I was out in two months! It would have been faster but some novice messed up the first rescue. The spells I managed to acquire were well worth the beating I took at your hands."

"Yes. You have scaled the ranks a bit fast, haven't you." remarked the robot with an even blander tone to his normally bland voice.

Rathtin laughed, "It helps when you orchestrate several different attacks that net the Circle useful artifacts and followers." Rathtin's eyes narrowed again as he added, "Especially if said attacks succeed despite the intervention of a certain blundering 'hero'."

"Indeed." Agreed Solid Shot, "But I don't think you shall prove to be much more trouble in the future."

Rathtin laughed and raised up his arms, green and red energy coruscating down his robes and staff, "You cannot stop a High Magus! A Ruin Mage of the highest order! I shall sunder you into a thousand thousands of pieces and scatter them across th-"

At that moment, Solid Shot raised his rifle and shot Rathtin between the eyes. Blood splattered across the Archer, who had moved behind Rathtin after helping the first Guardian. The Thorn members gaped as the lifeless body tumbled to the floor, expression permanently frozen into a mask of surprise. The Spectral Followers weren't so easily dissuaded. The two of them immediately rushed the robotic hero, confident in their ability to shrug off the damage of his un-magical weapons. Solid dodged to one side and flipped a switch on his rifle, causing the barrel to glow a sickly green color. Two quick pulls of the trigger, two bolts of green lightning, and the two ghosts dissolved, shrieking, into nothingness. 

By this time, the Thorn members had mostly overcome their shock at Rathtin's sudden death. The Guardians charged, their eyes glowing with an unholy fervor, and the Energy Mage focused his magic into his staff, preparing to obliterate the troublesome robot. A quick automatic burst stitched a line of red across the mage's chest as he jerked and flailed in rhythm with the chattering bullets. The unwounded Guardian fell with a gaping wound in his chest from a buckshot round and the second quickly followed as Solid smashed an electrically charged fist into his face, caving in his skull. In a matter of seconds, all that was left was four corpses, Solid Shot, and the trembling Archer.

The hapless Archer staggered backwards and tripped over a toppled shelf. He landed hard on his crossbow, shattering it, and started mouthing wordlessly. Solid Shot just stood, watching the Archer, and eventually the words came. 

"Why-why di-did you kill them?" cried the man, "Aren't you supposed to arrest us and put us in jail and-and try to reform us and…"

Solid nodded, "Yes. That is proper procedure. But I have grown tired of seeing the same faces over and over again. I arrest a Hellion member one day while he is terrorizing a citizen and a week later I find that same Hellion burning down a building in Steel Canyon. But your organization I find the most detestable." 

"Ok! But please don't kill me! I give up! I surrender! I'll never do anything wrong again! Just please for the love of God, don't kill me!" sobbed the terrified man.

"It is truly unfortunate that you had to be here on this day because I believe you." said Solid as he walked toward the man.

The former Archer looked up at Solid Shot with an expression of profound gratitude on his face…and died with it. Solid slung the still smoking rifle on his back and knelt down next to the dead man. He closed the corpse's staring eyes, the odd human gesture seeming entirely right at that moment. A short cough came from out of the street and a flashlight swept in through the door.

"You done in there?" asked a rough sounding voice.

"I am." replied Solid Shot, "And as per our agreement you may take what you want and then burn the rest."

"Awesome!" shouted a second voice from behind the first.

Four men rushed into the store and began ransacking the dead bodies and overturned shelves. Solid's low light vision picked out the skull masks on their faces and the pistols shoved into waistbands and pockets. Solid pushed past them and stepped outside. Activating his anti-gravity unit and jet thrusters, the hero flew up into the night sky and away from the store front. Minutes later, the howling Skulls threw fire bombs and Molotov cocktails into the store which erupted into a pillar of flame. Various heroes and the Paragon fire department arrived on the scene shortly afterward and put out the fire. Five burned corpses were found within, burned to the point of inhumanness; just more victims of an ongoing gang war.


End file.
